India, China in territory spat ahead of Hu’s visit¬†- Reuters

From Reuters:

China reaffirmed its claim over the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh bordering Tibet on Tuesday, sparking a diplomatic row between the Asian giants less than a week before Chinese President Hu Jintao visits New Delhi.

Beijing does not recognise the remote and sparsely populated state of Arunachal Pradesh is part of India and claims the state’s mountainous Tawang district once belonged to Tibet.

“In our position, the whole of what you call the state, the Arunachal (Pradesh) state, is Chinese territory and Tawang is only one place in it and we are claiming all of that,” Chinese ambassador Sun Yuxi said in a television interview late on Monday.

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee rejected China’s claim. “Arunachal is an integral part of India, and it is known … the position of the respective countries with regards to Arunachal,” he told reporters on Tuesday. [Full Text]